1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a method of forming a conductive pattern, a method of manufacturing a display substrate, and a display substrate. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a method of forming a thick conductive pattern, a method of manufacturing a display substrate using the method, and a display substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
As display devices for displaying an image in high quality become larger, a signal line for applying a gate driving signal or a data driving signal may become thinner and longer. When the signal line is substantially thin, the aperture ratio of the display device increases. However, the resistance of the signal line also increases such that resistive-capacitive (“RC”) delay may occur therein. To prevent the RC delay, the signal line may be formed of low resistive metal or the thickness of the signal line may be increased.
Various methods are known as methods of forming the signal line such as sputtering, electroless plating, ink jetting and printing using a blade, for example. However, when a signal line is formed by printing an ink using a blade on a trench formed on a substrate, it may be difficult to completely fill the ink on the trench corresponding to a signal line having a complex shape. In addition, it may be difficult to uniformly fill the ink on the trench due to the pressure that the blade applies on the substrate.
When a thick signal line is formed by sputtering, an increased amount of stress is applied on the substrate during the sputtering process and a deformational difference between the substrate and a metal layer on the substrate may cause a warping of the substrate such that the reliability of subsequent processes substantially decreases. When a signal line is formed by electroless plating, additional processes may be performed to form a seed layer on the substrate, and the processes take a long time to grow a metal film on the seed layer. The electroless plating also includes a grinding process to flatten a surface of the metal film. When a signal line is formed by ink jetting, it is difficult to form a finely designed pattern because it is difficult to adjust the size of a droplet dropping from a nozzle.
Thus, by using methods of sputtering, electroless plating, ink jetting, or printing using a blade, it may be difficult to form a signal line whose thickness is thick, for example, about 1 micrometer (μm) or more.